The controversial retail giant Walmart faces the scrutiny of filmmaker Robert Greenwald in this documentary showcasing the adverse effects the behemoth inflicts on communities and individuals. Conducting interviews with former and current Walmart employees, Greenwald gets an insider’s look into some of the corporation’s alleged nefarious and exploitative labor practices. The film also explores the economic impact of Walmart on small businesses and communities.
CORPORATE ISSUES
WAFFLE STREET
Waffle Street’s riches-to-rags tale is an adaptation of James Adams’ 2010 memoir of the same name (published by Sourced Media Books), which chronicles the financier’s foray into the food industry. After being laid off at the hedge fund where he worked, and further jaded by his culpability in the crisis, Adams chose to work at a popular 24-hour diner where he claims “most of his financial knowledge has been gleaned.” Offering a fresh take on the fallout of corporate greed, Adams’ is a tale of the redemption and unlikely friendship found under the tutelage of Glover’s character Edward, the best short-order cook in town
crips and bloods
COWSPIRACY: The Sustainability Secret (http://cowspiracy.com) is a groundbreaking feature-length environmental documentary following an intrepid filmmaker as he uncovers the most destructive industry facing the planet today, and investigates why the world’s leading environmental organizations are too afraid to talk about it.
ARBITRAGE – R
Arbitrage, the feature-directing debut of writer Nicholas Jarecki, is a taut and alluring suspense thriller about love, loyalty, and high finance. When we first meet New York hedge-fund magnate Robert Miller (Richard Gere) on the eve of his 60th birthday, he appears the very portrait of success in American business and family life. But behind the gilded walls of his mansion, Miller is in over his head, desperately trying to complete the sale of his trading empire to a major bank before the depths of his fraud are revealed. Struggling to conceal his duplicity from loyal wife Ellen (Susan Sarandon) and brilliant daughter and heir-apparent Brooke (Brit Marling), Miller’s also balancing an affair with French art-dealer Julie Cote (Laetetia Casta). Just as he’s about to unload his troubled empire, an unexpected bloody error forces him to juggle family, business, and crime with the aid of Jimmy Grant (Nate Parker), a face from Miller’s past. One wrong turn ignites the suspicions of NYPD Detective Michael Bryer (Tim Roth), who will stop at nothing in his pursuits. Running on borrowed time, Miller is forced to confront the limits of even his own moral duplicity. Will he make it out before the bubble bursts?
Trailer for Arbitrage on TrailerAddict.
MARGIN CALL – R
Trailer for Margin Call on TrailerAddict.
A thriller that revolves around the key people at a investment bank over a 24-hour period during the early stages of the financial crisis.
SYRIANA – R
Trailer for Syriana on TrailerAddict.
From writer/director Stephen Gaghan, winner of the Best Screenplay Academy Award for Traffic, comes Syriana, a political thriller that unfolds against the intrigue of the global oil industry. From the players brokering back-room deals in Washington to the men toiling in the oil fields of the Persian Gulf, the film’s multiple storylines weave together to illuminate the human consequences of the fierce pursuit of wealth and power. As a career CIA operative (George Clooney) begins to uncover the disturbing truth about the work he has devoted his life to, an up-and-coming oil broker (Matt Damon) faces an unimaginable family tragedy and finds redemption in his partnership with an idealistic Gulf prince (Alexander Siddig). A corporate lawyer (Jeffrey Wright) faces a moral dilemma as he finesses the questionable merger of two powerful U.S. oil companies, while across the globe, a disenfranchised Pakistani teenager (Mazhar Munir) falls prey to the recruiting efforts of a charismatic cleric. Each plays their small part in the vast and complex system that powers the industry, unaware of the explosive impact their lives will have upon the world.
GOODNIGHT AND GOODLUCK
Broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow looks to bring down Senator Joseph McCarthy.
INSIDE JOB
Inside Job is the first film to provide a comprehensive analysis of the global financial crisis of 2008, which at a cost over $20 trillion, caused millions of people to lose their jobs and homes in the worst recession since the Great Depression, and nearly resulted in a global financial collapse. Through exhaustive research and extensive interviews with key financial insiders, politicians, journalists, and academics, the film traces the rise of a rogue industry which has corrupted politics, regulation, and academia.
THANK YOU FOR SMOKING – R
Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) is the Vice President of and the chief spokesman for the Academy of Tobacco Studies, a lobbyist for tobacco.
EGGS 101
American Egg Board members ended up with egg on their faces after the November 2008 election. Over 63% of the voters in California voted “yes” on Proposition 2 labeledStandards for Confining Farm Animals. When signatures were gathered for this initiative, it was titled Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act, but evidently “cruelty” was too strong a term to be placed on the initiative, so it was changed to Standards for Confining Farm Animals. The law as passed carries the title, Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act, and goes into effect in 2015. Continue reading